Distributed digital conference systems enable individual system ports to operate under processor control to create a conference connection by combining selected time slot digital port signals. In such systems, to assure that the number of conference registers required for a conference connection was sufficient, a large fixed number of conference registers were dedicated to each station port. Consequently, when a conference connection involved less than the maximum number of conferees, there were many idle conference registers. With the continuing increase in complexity of communication circuits, it has become commonplace for a circuit board to contain port circuitry for interfacing two or more port devices. As a result, the average number of idle conference registers on a port circuit board basis is increased. What is desired is a way to more efficiently utilize conference registers to provide a more cost-effective conference connection capability in a distributed digital system.